linux-kernel - Re: [Xen-devel] [PATCH 1/3] Add mcelog support for xen platform

lists.openwall.net		lists / announce owl-users owl-dev john-users john-dev passwdqc-users yescrypt popa3d-users / oss-security kernel-hardening musl sabotage tlsify passwords / crypt-dev xvendor / Bugtraq Full-Disclosure linux-kernel linux-netdev linux-ext4 linux-hardening linux-cve-announce PHC
Open Source and information security mailing list archives

Hash Suite: Windows password security audit tool. GUI, reports in PDF.

[<prev] [next>] [<thread-prev] [day] [month] [year] [list]

Date:	Wed, 25 Apr 2012 10:11:25 +0200
From:	Ingo Molnar <mingo@...nel.org>
To:	Andi Kleen <andi@...stfloor.org>
Cc:	Borislav Petkov <bp@...64.org>,
	Konrad Rzeszutek Wilk <konrad.wilk@...cle.com>,
	"Liu, Jinsong" <jinsong.liu@...el.com>, tony.luck@...el.com,
	x86@...nel.org, linux-edac@...r.kernel.org,
	"xen-devel@...ts.xensource.com" <xen-devel@...ts.xensource.com>,
	"linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org" <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>,
	"H. Peter Anvin" <hpa@...or.com>,
	Thomas Gleixner <tglx@...utronix.de>,
	torvalds@...ux-foundation.org
Subject: Re: [Xen-devel] [PATCH 1/3] Add mcelog support for xen platform

* Andi Kleen <andi@...stfloor.org> wrote:

> Borislav Petkov <bp@...64.org> writes:
> 
> > Because, if you'd hooked into it, just imagine one fine day, when we
> > remove mcelog support, what screaming the xen people will be doing when
> > mcelog doesn't work anymore.
> 
> That's simple. /dev/mcelog is a widely used user space ABI 
> [...]

*COUGH* *SPLUTTER* *LAUGH*.

Thanks for making my day with the self-serving exaggeration of 
the year.

In truth /dev/mcelog is one of the crappiest ABIs Linux has - 
full stop. As a result it's barely used by anyone who can avoid 
it - its main usecase is the utility you wrote for it and some 
enterprise folks who desperately need that data and don't care 
how they get it. The mcelog user-space utility sucks too, 
understandably.

Nevertheless we probably have to keep the ABI around until a 
truly better replacement is out there (the RAS daemon for 
example) and mcelog usage eclipses to obscurity, but by all 
means we want to limit its further spreading /dev/mcelog to 
areas it has not polluted yet ...

Thanks,

	Ingo
--
To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in
the body of a message to majordomo@...r.kernel.org
More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
Please read the FAQ at  http://www.tux.org/lkml/